Klopp challenges English FA over use of teenage player

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) With his catchy comments and personable nature, Juergen Klopp has captivated English soccer in his first two weeks in charge of Liverpool.

There is a harder edge to Klopp, too, and the manager has wasted little time in complaining about the English Football Association’s treatment of one of his teenage players.

Jordan Rossiter returned from England under-19s duty with a hamstring injury after playing three matches in six days.

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”These young players are our future. If we handle them like horses we get horses,” Klopp said Wednesday.

Klopp was seemingly under the impression the games were played in a five-day span.

”Rossiter is a special story. I never heard of an 18-year-old playing three games in five days,” Klopp said. ”That is the problem why he is injured and I don’t think he will be ready until the next international break.

”I don’t know who I have to talk about this but I will find a way because it is not OK. On my first day I didn’t want to have a call with someone with the FA but for sure this is not OK.”